When an e-car like the Tesla Model X pulls a caravan, the range decreases. A team of former Tesla employees is building a caravan that compensates for this shortcoming.
Employees of the start-up Lightship Energy. (Source: Lightship Energy)
- The start-up Lightship Energy wants to present an e-caravan that can compensate for the range losses of electric cars pulling a caravan.
- For this purpose, the electric caravan has its own battery and its own drive.
- There is great interest in such solutions.
There are numerous approaches to e-mobile homes and charging the batteries via solar is also becoming immensely important in the camping scene. But an electric caravan with its own motor and battery has so far been missing from our camping highlights. That should change now.
A start-up consisting of former Tesla employees has been formed under the name Lightship Energy. Among others, Ben Parker and Toby Kraus work for this company. Parker helped design the Tesla Model 3 battery. Kraus was responsible for the Tesla Model S program.
In an interview with the US portal Techcrunch, both report on their original idea of electrifying food trucks. It quickly became apparent that not only mobile food vendors were interested in electric trailers, but above all campers who use their electric cars as towing vehicles.
The ex-Tesla folks took a 6,000-mile road trip to better understand the camping scene. The trip ended with a disaster, but also many new insights.
We tucked the most aerodynamic trailer we could find behind a Tesla Model X. Then we had to unhitch and leave the trailer in the middle of a freeway exit. Otherwise we wouldn’t have reached the next Supercharger. It was sobering.
Lightship Energy
The weight and drag of a typical caravan puts an enormous strain on the battery. With an electric car with a typical range of 500 kilometers, there are quickly only 100 kilometers left. The aim of the young company is to present a caravan that compensates for this loss of range.
What exactly this caravan will look like is still a secret, the official presentation is still pending. What is certain is that the camping trailer will be particularly aerodynamic. There will also be the option of passively charging it via solar cells, very similar to what Living Vehicle is already impressively demonstrating. By the way: Tesla itself recently presented a trailer with solar cells in Hanover, which can also extend the range.
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